Born into a working-class family, Citrine began his career as an electrician and became active in the electrician’s union of Liverpool. From 1914 to 1920 he was Mersey District secretary of the Electrical Trades Union. In 1920 Citrine became assistant secretary of the Electrical Trades Union and four years later took the position of assistant general secretary of the TUC. In 1926 he became the general secretary of the TUC. He also served as president of the International Federation of Trade Unions (1928–45) and chairman of the World Federation of Trade Unions (1945–46). In 1947 Citrine became Britain’s first chairman of the Central Electricity Authority, a position which he held for 10 years.

As TUC general secretary, Citrine acquired a reputation as a precise and efficient administrator and a highly skilled organizer. Identified with the conservative wing of English labour, Citrine held to a firm anticommunist position in both domestic and international union affairs. He published a number of books, including The Trade Union Movement of Great Britain (1926). He was knighted in 1935 and raised to the peerage in 1946.

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